stay with me girl, we can rule the world
by tatty ted
Summary: AU. Roisin Connor married and started a family with a man she believed loved her. Only six months into their marriage did she realise what a terrible mistake she'd made. Now, there's nothing she can do except hide the bruises and shield their daughter from the violence. But what happens when he goes too far? - —Roisin/Mike. /For Checky&Abbey.
1. CHAPTER I

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stay with me girl, we can rule the world  
_a trial & retribution fanfiction_

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Her life is the definition of hell. A loveless marriage to a violent man who doesn't think twice about marking her, making her his property, his possession. She's not a wife, she's a slave and a mother. A mother to a child too scared to do what's considered normal for a child of four.

A child who hides underneath her bed, with her teddy bear and repeats the prayer they have to say at school. She tries to block out the screams of her mother as her father beats the shit out of her again and again and again until she's unconscious, covered in blood on the living room floor.

She closes her eyes and her ears to it all, (See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.)

Of course, she'd never dream of repeating what she's heard. It'll be wonderful wouldn't it? Can you picture the scene? Sitting at the breakfast table at school, a piece of toast in her hand, her teacher asking why she's so quiet this morning as she swings her legs forwards and backwards.

Can you imagine the conversation? ("Why are you so quiet?")

("Daddy's beating the shit out of mummy. She's a piece of shit, she's fucking useless.")

Can you imagine those disgusting words been spoken by an innocent, (far from innocent) four year old girl in breakfast club?

No, I didn't think so, let's pretend it doesn't happen. Let's pretend there's a perfectly resonable explanation of why four year old Katie screams and hits the other children, why she's always angry and afraid. Why four year old Katie flinches whenever an adult shouts nearby.

Let's pretend abuse doesn't exist. (See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.)

Roisin tries hard, really she does. She tries to shield her daughter from it as much as possible. Their daughter's either in another room or playing outside in the garden whilst her husband, (loved and respected) throws her around and the food she's just cooked because it's _not good enough._

_She's_ not good enough he tells her. She'll never be good enough. Slowly, piece by piece, bit by bit, he breaks her apart. Shatters her confidence, makes her believe that she will _never_ be loved. Any hope she had, any dream, any thoughts of happiness are long gone. They've disappeared into the night.

Every time she gets the confidence to leave, he breaks her apart and she's back at square one.

And you know what's funny? Really funny? She's a Detective and she's not meant to be afraid of anything.

But she is. She's afraid of him, afraid for their daughter's safety, afraid of what he might do to her. How can their daughter ever grow up in a house like this? One parent raising the hand to another, the other unconscious. The daughter, left to hide and fend for herself against a man who's meant to love her.

A man who hates her just as much as her mother.

Nobody _really_ spots the bruises when she's at work. He's clever, he marks her where nobody will see. Sometimes though, people do notice and they question where she's got the bruise and she just smiles and lies. A perfectly rehersed excuse which is becoming second nature to her, she doesn't even have to think anymore.

All she really wants to do is sit down and tell someone.

Talk, talk, talk. Tell someone that _he's _hurting her and she's afraid for Katie's safety.

But can you imagine the conversation? ("So how are you today?")

("Not good, Robbie's beating me up. I think he's going to start hurting Katie.")

The conversation will never happen so let's pretend abuse doesn't exist. Let's close our eyes, cover our ears and pretend that there's no such thing as domestic violence. Or even if we witness it, let's turn a blind eye and pretend it's normal.

He goes too far one night. He hits Katie, sends her flying across the living room, knocks her into the glass cabinet. Her baby girl is screaming, surrounded by glass, a slap mark around the face. She knows she has to go, she has to leave him now.

This is _her _daughter we're talking about. She doesn't need to be abused too.

He batters her first before he leaves for the pub with his friends. She's broken and bruised and bloodied but she finds the strength within her to leave. She takes Katie by the hand and whispers that there's a big wide world out there, a world for them both to explore.

She's scared, there's no denying it. Every footstep, every shadow she sees and hears has her heart in the back of her throat. She keeps asking herself the same question, what if he finds her? He'll kill her. God, he's said it plenty of times. He's said he'll kill her if she leaves him.

They reach the end of their adventure. They're stood outside a house and she has to calm herself down and tell herself over and over again that this is it. The hell can finally be over and perhaps Roisin will realise that a heaven does exist after all.

She can't however bring herself to press the doorbell. Her daughter stares up at her, blue eyed, fingers entwined with her mother wondering what's happening. Roisin meets her daughter's gaze. She notices the hurt and the anger as well as the fear, takes a deep breath and pressed the doorbell once.

She hopes he's home.

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**jottings — **wow, i need to stop writing so much haha. if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review. dedicated to; abbey and checky because one, it was abbey's birthday (happy belated birthday!) and two, they're both bloody amazing girlies. ily lots. :3


	2. CHAPTER II

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**CHAPTER TWO.**

He is. He opens the door to find her on his doorstep, shaking slightly. He notices that she's covered in blood and there's a faint pink mark on Katie's cheek. He knows who's responsible without her saying something. He's always had an uneasy feeling about her husband.

He always thought he was a prick.

There's nothing spoken once she's in the house either. That's one of the great things about their relationship. They don't have to talk to know they can lean on each other for support. He's just there and she's not alone and she's grateful for that.

Katie falls asleep, she tucks her up in the spare bedroom and runs her fingers through her hair.

Oh how could she be so stupid to believe _he was sorry_.

His lies and her naivety had caused a victim in her daughter. That guilt would never go away. If only she'd left the first time, her daughter wouldn't have become injured because of the bastard she'd chosen to marry (and start a family with)

"Why didn't you tell me?" She's sat at the kitchen table, leaving the question to hang in the air. He's sat in front of her, a bowl of warm water and a cloth and she shrugs. Why didn't she tell him, she wonders.

"I didn't think you'd believe me."

He sighs. He can only guess what that bastard for her husband had told her during the many arguments they'd had. He could tell he'd broken and completely shattered the person she used to be. Roisin Connor used to have confidence, _too_ much confidence.

Now?

Now she was a shadow of her former self.

He gently washes the cut on the side of her face and watches as she flinches. It's sad that she believes everyone around her will use her as a punching bag. He'd never hit her. He'd never raise a finger to her.

"Roisin?" He's cleaned her up as best as he can and he plants a kiss on her forehead. He takes in her scent and he smiles softly. He knows the only way to get her back to the person she used to be would be to eliminate the person who'd broken her.

"Roisin?" He kneels down in front of her and cups her cheek in his hand, "I promise I'll never let him hurt you or Katie again."

She thinks she knows what he means. This is Michael Walker she's talking too. A man who's not afraid to kill if it means protecting the ones he loves. She puts her hand over his on her cheek and smiles softly.

"_Please_ don't do anything stupid."

He's got a family too you know. He's got two children who need him more than they say they do. She doesn't want him to do something stupid, something that might jepordize his own career to deal with her idiotic choices in life.

Although if she's honest, this won't be the last time. She's always been shit at choosing potential husbands/boyfriends/etc. Absolutely shit and look where it's got her. Completely broken, independent on a man she hates (_sometimes_) and a daughter damaged by the things her parents used to do.

"Just worry about you and Katie." He says with a small smile, drops a kiss on her forehead and stands up. That feeling's returned in her stomach, the feeling of dread and knowing that something terrible is going to happen.

She tries, believe me she tries to talk him out of doing something stupid but he doesn't listen. The door closes and she hopes that he's not thrown out of his depth. She couldn't bare it if something happened to him too because of her.

She feels awkward? Yes awkward being in a house that isn't her own although she has visited it several times. It's different now though, the atmosphere's different. She's just escaped an abusive husband and her _friend_ is hunting for him, ready to kill him.

The television's on quietly, the channel on bbc one and the news flashing around the screen. She's not watching it nor paying attention. It's background noise in the quiet house, trying to stop her from thinking _he's watching her every move._

The front door slams closed and she jumps. She realises there's nothing to be afraid of and he appears at the door.

"He won't hurt you again Roisin." He says, doesn't elaborate and leaves. She can hear his footsteps on the stairs then along the landing and she knows what he did. She knows that her husband Robbie is dead. He killed him for her, for Katie.

Robbie's dead and surprisingly she's calm about the situation. She's relieved, it could've been her who could've died.

And that day itself becomes an unspoken promise, never to discuss the events of that evening.

And to this day, they don't. They never will.

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**jottings — **two shot, like/dislike? please leave me a review;3


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